Daily News

Australia – Demand for recruitment services predicted to grow

14 March 2014

The Recruitment and Consulting Services Association (RCSA), which represents the recruitment and employment services industry in Australia, has released its PULSE Quarterly Hiring Intentions Survey. The survey predicts continued growth in the demand for on-hire (temporary/contract recruitment) and permanent recruitment services with occupations; such as Managers, Professionals, Technicians, and Sales expected to show the strongest increase in demand.

Robert van Stokrom, President of RCSA, commented: “Yesterday’s announcement from the [Australian Bureau of Statistics] of increases in full-time employment reflects the view of our member recruiters who expect a steady growth in demand for permanent recruitment services, as organisations cautiously add new workers to meet growing demand brought on by increasing business confidence.”

“The demand for on-hire services on the other-hand is showing greater volatility as the seasonal requirement for workers and delay in commencement of large projects is impacting the continuity of demand for on-hire workers,” he added.

Key findings in the October to December 2013 survey include:

On-Hire Services

62% of responding RCSA members expect demand for on-hire services will increase during January to March 2014, up from 55% in the previous quarter.

RCSA members expect demand for on-hire services is expected to continue to improve between January and March 2014.

48% reported an increase in demand for on-hire worker services between October and December 2013, an increase of +6% from September 2013.

Demand for on-hire services was inconsistent between October and December 2013 with an actual demand index of 3.03, compared with the forecast future demand index of 3.44 reported in September 2013.

Permanent Placement Services

51% of responding RCSA members expect demand for permanent placement services will increase between January and March 2014, up from 34% in the previous quarter.

Demand for permanent recruitment services is expected to continue to improve between January and March 2014.

Over 60% reported no change or an increase in demand for permanent recruitment services worker services between October and December 2013, down from 73% reported in September 2013.

Demand for permanent recruitment services remained steady between October and December 2013 with an actual demand index of 3.11 compared with the forecast future demand index of 3.21 reported in July 2013.

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